Fall Beauty – PPA175 Color Challenge

I love Thursdays!  Why?  Because that’s when I get to share my Pals Paper Arts Challenge project with you.  Woo hoo!  This week’s color challenge is filled with all the beauty of Fall – Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze and So Saffron are perfect together.  I don’t pick the colors, but I get to choose what I do with them.  Here’s my inspiration card for the challenge:Harvest of Thanks, Stippled Blossoms, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, PPA175

 And here’s the challenge banner:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Finding inspiration.  For today’s challenge I wanted to do something a little different.  I wanted to avoid the most obvious options of Fall leaves or a muted Christmas theme for these colors.  I spent most of this week looking around to find my inspiration elsewhere.  At work on Monday, I found it.  I chirped with excitment when I saw this pillow on a chair in the lobby of our conference center at work:  Fall InspirationThe shapes and colors on this pillow are perfect for this challenge!  I stamped the solid images from the large flower in Stippled Blossoms in So Saffron and then Always Artichoke (a mixture of first-generation and second-generation stamping).  I then covered the entire image with second-generation stamps of the detailed flower.
  • Finding Balance.  This card is a great lesson of how important “white space” is to the composition of a card.  I didn’t want to cover up the background I had created, but WOW! it really seems to pop when a large portion of the background is covered by the central panel.  Here’s how it looks without the “clean” panel in the center of it:  Stippled Blossoms, Stampin' Up!, Brian KingNow, scroll back up and look at the finished card.  Do you see how much the central panel changes the look of the background?
  • Embellish the Envie.  I masked off the panel of the envelope and created the same texture as the background on the card.  When the recipient of this card retrieves this unique envelope in their mailbox, they will [undoubtedly] be anxious to see what’s inside.Harvest of Thanks, Stippled Blossoms, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, PPA175

Stamp sets:  Stippled Blossoms, Harvest of Thanks  Papers:  Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla  Inks:  So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze  Accessories:  Apothecary Accents Framelits, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Regals Candy Dots 

Please check out the other designers’ cards at The Pals Paper Arts.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

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30 Comments

  1. Beautiful! That background is absolutely stunning !

  2. ooh! Beautiful! I always have an eye for inspiration around me, where was I the other day I almost took out my phone to snap a picture so I wouldn’t forget. Should have taken that picture! I’ve forgotten already 🙂

  3. Such a pretty blend of the three colors . You created a lovely background that`s so similar to the pillow that it`s uncanny. Something that has gotten my attention is the Apothecary Framelit that you used . I don`t have this set and everytime you use it I wonder why I haven`t bought it . I like the way you matted it to make the shape grab your attention . Well done !

  4. Laurie Burns Gachewicz

    Amazing technique here Brian!! Your layering and stamping created such a softly blended Fall backdrop!! So pretty!! 🙂

  5. What a clever way to use that set! Your card is dead on with the inspiration piece! LOVE it! 🙂

  6. Wow! It’s a stunner, Brian, and I never would have thought to use my Stippled Blossoms like this. Wow!

  7. Love it!! 🙂

  8. Love the background, oh heck, I just love the whole card. 🙂

  9. I’d be over the moon to receive this card. So very striking. Wonderful envelope also.

  10. I absolutely love that background, Brian. This stamp set is fabulous but you went beyond fabulous to stunning!!! I’m amazed at how close you are to the color and pattern of that pillow that served as your inspiration, you have a fantastic eye for design and, even if the color choices were already picked up, the way you used them in this card is really awesome. I’m going to look at my Stippled Blossoms stamp set in a totally different way from now on. Thank you for the daily inspiration.

  11. I love this card it is just beautiful I enjoy looking at your blog everyday It is so inspiring.

  12. Love it love it love it. That could be a new DSP design!!!

  13. Wow, Brian, I absolutely LOVE this card. Color combination is gorgeous! I agree with Lynn–definitely should be a DSP design!! TFS!!

  14. How fun you found your background inspiration from that pillow at work. Great job, again, on the challenge, Brian.

  15. What a gorgeous card! Love the background with lovely flower and colors! Super way of jazzing up the envelope, too!

  16. I originally thought it was DSP till I read your comments, beautiful card and very close to ihr inspiration.

  17. I love the muted tone of those colors, Brian. They can be so vibrant, yet you found a way to make them appear soft and subtle. Nicely done!

  18. TFS how to create such a great background. Beautiful card (and envelope).

  19. Love everything about this beautiful card, Brian–thanks so much!

  20. Very, very elegant Brian! The envelope puts it over the top!

  21. Love, love, love this Brian, and how imaginative to do the envelope panel that way also

  22. Brian, this is pure art. The center panel “white space” makes all the difference. Beautiful design and perfect card balance. Love it!

  23. Love the card, hate the cushion. Its also a fantastic reminder that oh so many stamp sets can be turned into fabulous backgrounds.

  24. Brian,

    Who needs patterned paper? This background is beautiful! TFS

  25. So very lovely. It’s exquisite!

  26. I love how you made the background. Almost too pretty to cover it up!

  27. This stippled blossom background is absolutely fabulous! Love, love it. Also love that you stamped the envelope to match.

  28. Wow! I would have never thought to use the stipled blossom set!!! That is soooo cool!! How did you think of that?

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